Elkton Automotive

Today's automotive technicians working their today hadn't yet been born when Fenkell Automotive Service first opened its doors in 1932. But they benefit from the business's tradition of astute customer service and professional courtesy. In addition to oil changes, maintenance, and windshield repair, the crew demonstrates their commitment to customers with preventative maintenance plans that not only meet cars' factory service recommendations, but also insures against mishaps with free towing, tire hazard coverage, and roadside assistance.

For 20 years, R & M Automotive Inc.'s ASE-certified technicians have stood by six days a week to counter car troubles with quality workmanship and up-to-date diagnostic methods. The techs welcome most American and imported vehicles that limp into the garage and beg for clean oil, a new engine, or shocks that don't curse every time they hit a pothole, and the staff backs their work with a 12-month/12,000-mile warranty. For added convenience, customers can count on a complimentary ride to homes or offices within 15 miles of R & M while cars are out of commission.

From more than 350 facilities in six countries, Precision Tune Auto Care has spent the last three decades keeping more than 2.5 million vehicles on the road with an array of maintenance and auto-repair services. Professionally trained mechanics lube engines with signature precision oil changes, rotate tires to ensure even tread wear, repair busted brakes, and test spark plugs to safeguard against ignition failure during dramatic drive-thru getaways. Whether performing complicated services on fuel-injection and cooling systems or simply aligning tires, the mechanics back all their services with a 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty.

Since 1988, Auto Care Super Saver has been helping car owners save cash with maintenance punch cards redeemable at local auto shops throughout the course of a full year. These cards come loaded with all kinds of prepaid services, including at least three full-service oil changes with up to 5 quarts of oil, lube, and a new filter. Depending on the location, punch cards may also feature tire rotations, brake inspections, engine-light readings, air-conditioning performance tests, and other repairs and inspections essential to a car's well-being. Customers can transfer the punch card's benefits to any ride, ranging from station wagons to sports cars to feral merry-go-round mounts.

If your shady parking spot rests beneath bird-filled trees, or someone scrawled carpetbagger into the layer of grime on your car window, today's Groupon can give your vehicle its original off-the-lot shine. For $18, you'll get Auto Spa Hand Car Wash's Wax Works Way package, including a complete hand wash, wax, and interior clean, a $38 value. Baltimore Magazine's Best Car Wash of Charm City, Auto Spa is located a cool 15 miles outside the city in Cockeysville, making the return trip in your newly perfected vehicle a ride you'll wish would never end. This Groupon isn't just great for sprucing up your own car: it also makes the perfect passive-aggressive gift for your dirty carpool driver.

At the AAA–approved facilities, mechanics attend to vehicles with all the skill and understanding you'd expect from ASE–certified technicians. Versed in every make and model of car out there, they dive underneath hoods and reinvigorate autos with Interstate batteries and products from BG Products Inc., repairing anything that's broken and slapping down a 24-month, 24,000-mile warranty. This castle of car care doubles as a state-certified emissions-inspection facility, and their shuttle treats auto owners to free rides whenever it's not busy rescuing helpless jalopies from junkyards.